Facebook is seeking European Union antitrust approval for its plan to buy WhatsApp, according to a person familiar with the company's plans.

Facebook requested the European Commission scrutinise the antitrust aspects of the $19 billion deal, according to a source. If a company faces a merger review in three EU countries, it can ask the commission to handle the case. "Depending on where Facebook would have had to file, it may feel safer with dealing with the sophisticated, unbiased" commission merger people, Matthew Hall, a lawyer at McGuire Woods LLP in Brussels, who isn't involved with the case.

The cash-and-stock acquisition would be the biggest by Facebook, the world’s largest social network, and the most expensive for an internet company in more than a decade. In addition to antitrust issues, the merger has sparked concerns about privacy as data-protection regulators question how the mobile-messaging startup’s client data will be used.

The European Commission declined to comment as did Facebook.

– (Bloomberg)